Unusual and very colorful stylized filming opens this story with all out visceral action right from the start. Chang Hao-dong (Jin Zhang) you might say is a renegade cop of sorts; accused of manslaughter of a fellow officer, but acquitted upon lack of evidence. Butting heads constantly with his boss (Derek Tsang), Chang is determined to get to the bottom of a gold smuggling operation in the middle of Hong Kong harbor. I wouldn't know why, but Jin Zhang's character is alternately referred to as Chang as well as Sai-gau, primarily by his cop partner A-de (Yue Wu). About to retire from the force the very next day, A-de is coerced to join Chang on one last case, which will ultimately prove his undoing.
Unusual as well are some of the set pieces for this picture. There's an extended underwater fight scene, and a fierce typhoon that under ordinary circumstances would have rendered all the principals unable to pursue their individual quests. The typhoon action is particularly well staged and it's a credit to director Jonathan Li's expertise to display the storm as real as one could expect. The martial arts action gets to be fairly intense, though it's apparent that villain Jiang is intentionally positioned as unequal to the film's lead. Their final underwater showdown is almost a bit underwhelming, as it winds up a contest of who can hold their breath the longest. Personally, I don't know which was more terrifying - the life and death struggle between the two protagonists, or the sight of Chang throwing all those gold bars overboard.
Unusual as well are some of the set pieces for this picture. There's an extended underwater fight scene, and a fierce typhoon that under ordinary circumstances would have rendered all the principals unable to pursue their individual quests. The typhoon action is particularly well staged and it's a credit to director Jonathan Li's expertise to display the storm as real as one could expect. The martial arts action gets to be fairly intense, though it's apparent that villain Jiang is intentionally positioned as unequal to the film's lead. Their final underwater showdown is almost a bit underwhelming, as it winds up a contest of who can hold their breath the longest. Personally, I don't know which was more terrifying - the life and death struggle between the two protagonists, or the sight of Chang throwing all those gold bars overboard.